Unexpected
by tmpayne80
Summary: Post-Always. Rick's point of view with the events that happened and goes beyond the end. More realistic than imagination. No copyright infringement intended.
1. Chapter 1

Spoilers come from Season Four episode "Always."

I was proud of Alexis and all she had done. Her speech was touching and well written. Something she said seemed to stick to me more than the rest. There is always someone that becomes a permanent part of us despite our best efforts to detach them. I saw Kate's smile when she said those words, but I did not show it. It was hard to walk away even after she showed no regard for any of my feelings. She was determined to destroy her life and I had no power to stop her.

I returned to the house alone. Mom had decided to fly out to the Hampton's without me. The original plan before our last conversation was for Kate to watch a double feature. I found myself completely alone in the loft. I got a call from Alexis offering come home early, but I convinced her not to. I figured that she deserved to have a good time with her friends. College would be coming soon enough and she would be working twice as hard at her exemplary grades. After hanging up the phone I hung her tassel on a lamp realizing just how fast this day had come.

My phone rang. Kate's smiling face was smiling up at me. It hurt. It reminded me that I had one more thing to do. I knew if the murder board stayed I would never really move on. I pulled up the file and felt the hurt hit me. Everyone attached to her mother's murder was dead and she did not seem to care if it took her out too. I dragged the file over to the recycle bin to make it go away once and for all. I forced myself to do it to be exact.

A knock on my door caught my attention. It could not have been mother because she left for the Hamptons. It could not have been Alexis because I just got off the phone with her. It left only one person, but I doubted she would show up again. I was not sure what I would say or how I would react.

There she stood outside my door. She looked like she had taken a shower in her clothes. Her eyes held a different look. Something had changed but I was not sure exactly what.

I asked her what she wanted. Her answer shocked me. I don't just mean her words. Her actions were twice as shocking.

"You." Beckett then stepped into my door and reached for me.

Her kiss would have been welcomed months ago. I would have had a clearer picture of what she felt about me. I felt my reservations and I stuck to them. I heard her apologize about three times. She was about to kiss me again when I asked what had happened.

She told me that he had gotten way and she had not cared. She had nearly died and her only thoughts were about me. She attempted another kiss that I skirted. Her hand touched my cheek just as a bolt of lightning flashed through my windows. I found myself pushing the door shut with the force of her body. I could hardly contain myself. My hands and lips were finally going where only my wildest fantasies had taken me.

Only difference between the fantasies and the reality was that the reality was a hundred times better. She was reacting to me and I felt myself reacting to her. I could have pinched myself but she would have thought me crazy. It was not until I had unbuttoned her shirt that I had paused.

I saw the scar. I thought of how far we had come and all we had survived. It wasn't ugly or bad, but special. It was not until then that I gave her the tenderest kiss. I felt her take her fingers into mine. She led us back to my bedroom with the kind of smile she had never given me before.

I lived out my greatest fantasies a million times over. Niki Heat had nothing on her inspiration. Any assumptions I had about what was underneath that exterior were blown out of the water. She turned out to be better than anything I could have imagined. The best part is that it was all worth it. I got up and put on my robe as she slept peacefully on the other side.

I made some coffee and some breakfast. I looked at the clock and noticed that the time was about the time that she would normally be at the precinct. I could not explain it but it seemed as if she had not told me something. I could ask when I brought in the tray of food.

"Good morning beautiful." I called through the bedroom door.

Her eyes fluttered open as if she was not sure what to think at first. When she realized it was me and some food, she smiled. Her hair looked like a halo on her pillow. I was tempted to use the worst come one line on her and mean every word. She had been different than my wives and all the girlfriends. I could not quite figure out how she was different, but she was.

"Good morning yourself handsome." She finally sat up to look at me.

The sheets covered up the scar ever so slightly. She was still beautiful all the same. I wanted to ask but she stopped the questions with how she looked wrapped up in the sheet. Maybe after some food she would be up to the question. She was just too beautiful to ask.

After she had finally eaten everything, she only looked at me. The look was not the somber look that she had given me when she arrived but one I had always wished for. She had not told me that she was in love with me, but I could see it in her eyes.

"Castle, Thank you. I know that it took a lot to forgive me. I am sorry that I didn't tell you sooner. You showed me love and I made a point of stepping on it. Thank you for loving me." I liked the tenderness I was seeing in her.

"I meant what I said. I love you still." I placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

She had transformed overnight into the woman I had never known up close and personal. I loved it and I wondered how long it would last.

"I'll meet you out in the living room. I need to clean up." She finally got herself out of my bed and into my bathroom for a shower.

"We need to talk when you get out. Now that things have changed, we have a lot to work through and figure out." I tried not to scare her with my words.

Typically the words "We Need to Talk" mean trouble. It could still mean trouble. I would have to find out when she got back. What she still my fearless detective or was there a chance that she had given it all up?


	2. Chapter 2

I felt a kiss on my lips and then I heard the shower in my kitchen run. I could still smell her perfect scent on my pillow. A nagging question was eating at me despite my temporary intoxication. I needed to know exactly why she hadn't mentioned precinct or why there had been no calls. She knew that we needed to talk because I had said exactly that yesterday.

I had not noticed that Alexis had come back from the graduation party last night. If she had been in, I had not noticed at all. There was no note or sign that she had returned. I should have been concerned but I knew she could handle herself. She was an adult now. I trusted her.

I put on a fresh pair of boxers and robe. In all my years of knowing Kate, I had learned that she was as much of a caffeine addict as me. I went down to the kitchen and prepared a fresh pot of coffee for the two of us. The question that weighed on my mind yesterday was still there bothering me. She obviously was not willing to tell me of I let it slide. I had to ask.

She entered the kitchen in an old pair of NYPD sweat pants and ribbed tank top. Her hair was still wet but she let it hang down. All I remember thinking was how hot she looked just the way she looked. The question disappeared for the moment. How can a man think about any pressing question when he was face-to-face with the closest thing to perfection that he might ever see?

"You were reading my mind Rick. Thank you." She took the steaming cup from the counter.

It was an odd feeling to be rendered speechless. She had done it and made it look effortless.

I must have been staring and forgot that I was. She waved her beautiful hand in front of my face to bring me back to reality.

"Earth to Castle, are you staring into space or are you staring at me?" Her question was direct and to the point, as usual.

"How could I stare into space when I have my own personal goddess in front of me?" I managed to mix charming and honest in one question.

The tank top she wore showed off the strength and grace of her arms. It hugged her ribs just right because I could see all the amazing curves that made her so hard to resist. Those sweat pants would have insulted any other woman; they complimented her in every way. I had to smile because my hands had admired those curves with their touch after years of my mind and eyes doing exactly that.

"I would have called that the worst pick up line ever if you would have been any other man. I will take it as a compliment because it came from you. I could call it an over-the-top compliment, but it is more than appreciated." Her beautiful smile enhanced the view in front of me.

I couldn't resist. I had to put my arms around her when she looked that good. I walked to where I was behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. Call it mushy, call it cliché. It was too hard to keep my hands off of her. She never tried to pull away or tried to get out of my grip. I think she enjoyed it as much as I did.

"I couldn't resist. You were looking so damn beautiful I almost forgot what I needed to talk to you about. It's very important to me." I returned to the question that weighed on my mind.

"Sure Castle. How can I ease your mind?" We walked over to the couch.

"I could not help but notice that your phone has not rung. You have been sleeping in. I have not heard you mention a single thing related to work." I shared my observations with great concern in my voice.

"You want to know why." She finished my statement without a single word further from me.

I only looked at her with compassion and love so that she knew that I would not pass any judgment on her.

"I resigned." She put the cup down on the coffee table.

"I might come off as judgmental but I would like to know why and how it happened." I had to ask.

"I went after the man who shot me and almost got killed. If Ryan hadn't said something to Gates, I would have been dead. When we got back to the precinct, she suspended Esposito and me. I told her I resigned. On my way back to my apartment, I found that swing set we sat in a long time ago. I saw you in that swing despite the rain that was falling. You know the rest is history now." She patiently explained as she put her hand in mine.

"So what do you do now?" I asked out of concern.

"That was not part of my thought process at the time. I don't know for sure. Maybe I could be a stunt woman for the movies or some kind of consultant for television. I just don't know." She leaned against my shoulder.

"I could just see the credits. STUNTS BY KATE BECKETT." I joked, putting my hands out as if it were something to be seen on a movie screen.

Kate laughed at me. Her eyes danced with a childlike light heartedness that I had not seen in a long time. She looked so beautiful when she was able to take the weight of the world off her shoulders. I started to love her more just when I thought it could not be possible. Her body may have been the reason I found her so physically hot, but it was her spirit that attracted me to her. Her compassion and humor made her beautiful inside and out.

"I needed the laugh. I really appreciate the effort. I was sure you would be mad at me." I guess my reaction had surprised her.

"I might have fallen in love with you when you were a detective. That wasn't the reason though. You have so much that I admire and you offer me. The best part is I'm the guy who gets to know the real you. I love all of you. I don't see anything in you that can't be loved." I enjoyed the feeling of her head on my shoulder and the feel of her skin under my fingers.

"You are too sweet Rick Castle but I would not have you any other way." She placed a gentle kiss on my lips when she turned around.

"Too sweet but very true." I just smiled with extra charm.

I heard the door click. I thought for sure that Kate would straighten up instead of staying where she had been for the last 3 minutes. She remained where she was, apparently content to remain there.

"Sorry Dad that I did not get back yesterday. I stayed with…" She broke off her words when she looked down at us.

I don't think she knew what to say or do when she saw us on the couch holding hands. I wasn't sure if I should explain or let her figure it out.

"Here I was worried that you would be lonely without me around to keep you company. I see you had company." She looked down at Kate resting on my shoulder.

I said nothing and Kate only smiled.

"Would I be correct to assume this is a secret?" Alexis asked with her eyebrow cocked upwards.

"For the moment, that would be a correct assumption." I answered smiling.

"I guess I will leave you two alone. I have friends taking me out for a post-graduation lunch and shopping trip. I love you dad." I hugged Alexis with my free arm.

Alexis kissed my head before disappearing into her room again.

For the moment, I felt like the luckiest man in the world. I had three women that loved me. One took time to come around, one loved me from the day I was born, and the other I loved from the time I held her. I knew that this feeling would not last forever. I gladly accepted it as a gift to be treasured.


End file.
